


Altean Shenanigans

by beansquat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coran-centric, F/M, Lotura is the main ship but it's not quite the main focus¿?, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), i'm gonna give him the writing he deserves, rating might change but we shall see, this starts right after the finale of s4 and will be mostly canon-divergent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-02-12 21:45:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12969045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beansquat/pseuds/beansquat
Summary: Having another Altean on board the Castle of Lions is leading to developments Coran would like to pretend are not happening in front of him.





	1. Gut Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran is such a fun, quirky man! He deserves to be given a stronger voice and a chance to say something about the developments we've seen in the show. We know so little about him I'm going to have to wing things because this won't be particularly canon-aligned after a certain point like around the Kral Zera and Oriande arcs.

Coran had a tendency to get these notions about things. He learned early on they were best followed, especially in dire situations. Recently, they adapted to everyday scenarios. This was most likely spurned on by the arrival of the new Paladins from Earth.

The Paladins had every reason to inspire a new angle to Coran’s intuitive ability.

He sometimes wondered how they managed prior to their arrival on board the Castle of Lions--Allura had every reason to question the decision of the Lions at first.

Speaking of her, Coran also had concerns for the Altean princess. Recently, she had joined the Paladins’ ranks. She could more than handle herself in battle, he knew that, but when it came to the people they encountered...

The Galran prince, Lotor, was a prominent source of his concern.

He had arrived seeking shelter after Zarkon declared him an enemy of the state, complete with a kill-on-sight order.

Coran did not want to turn away the young man, especially given his current situation was similar to their own. Despite being half-Altean, Coran found something to be suspected of Lotor. He had proved himself innocent thus far so he could not pinpoint this concern just yet.

The Paladins were quicker to open their arms and tried their best to integrate him in their group. Once Lotor had shown he truly was not intending on giving them up to his father as a last minute plea to be spared, the prince was swept up and taken around the Castle for a tour. He was less disturbed than Coran and Allura were about Kaltenecker and the milkshakes. Perhaps that was what caused this feeling in the elder Altean’s gut. Or maybe his memory of the milkshakes.

Anyways, Lotor.

He was half-Altean and half-Galran. This mixture of genes made for a handsome youth with considerable height and physical prowess. Besides a striking appearance, he also knew how to conduct himself. Which led to what Coran understood but did not favor--Allura’s attention.

She had been unsure like the rest of the group, as expected, but had taken an extra step forward once he was cleared from suspicion. It started with simply showing him around more of the castle, especially the library since he was apparently curious about his heritage. Coran was happy for Lotor gaining access to this knowledge, he deserved to learn about the other half of his legacy. This was not the issue at all.

 

“Where’s Allura?”

“Oh, I think she was making another run to the library with Lotor. Something about a literally crazy, old queen who would only address her subjects if they were holding juniberries.”

“For real? Guess Alteans have their own fair share of weirdos in charge.”

This innocent exchange between the Green and Blue Paladins at the dining table was concerning to Coran. They implied that the Princess had been to the library more than once with Lotor to the point they were now used to it.

Coran knew Allura was young and deserved to have some time to unwind when not desperately trying to survive in the midst of an ancient intergalactic war. He also understood she was excited to meet another individual with Altean heritage. But this Altean fellow was causing him some worry and he, as the royal advisor, would not let any potential harm come to the surviving Altean royal.

Striding to the library in the most direct path he knew, the Altean advisor peeked into the room with every intention to just look.

He did not just look. 

“Oh, here is the story I wanted you to read about the other day.” Allura was sliding an open book across the table to Lotor.

She didn’t have to slide the book far. They were sitting right next to each other. Surrounded by books, obscuring most of Coran’s view. It was scandalous, Coran wanted to think.

He needed to trust Allura.

But the way Lotor easily spoke with her and grinned his lopsided grin, showing sharp teeth inherited from Zarkon himself, made Coran hold onto that gut feeling.

Then he saw it.

Allura had laughed at some comment he made and then leaned her head against his shoulder, reading with him. Lotor made no move to replace the distance from earlier. Coran could have sworn the boy leaned in as well.

Realizing he was eavesdropping, Coran took action and pretended to walk in like he was searching for something. Immediately, the two scooted away from each other. A book or two were nearly dropped but trained reflexes saved the readers from a proper scolding about at least not caring for the books, much less their shameless nuzzling.

“Oh, Coran!” Allura greeted, standing up soundly. She offered him an unknowing smile and he sighed to himself ruefully.

“Good day, Princess,” he answered, mirroring her tone. “And to you too, Prince Lotor.”

That name felt so dry and awkward on his tongue. Unbeknownst, said prince seemed to light up at being acknowledged.

“Greeting, Coran.”

“What have you two been, uh, reading?” he strained on. It was a mistake to come out and interact, he knew it. But it felt better than remaining where he was just earlier.

“I was looking for some historical books and also a few biographies for Lotor to read! He likes that same book as you do, the one about Groggory.”

“O-oh! Splendid, well, I-I should let you continue. Carry on, I shall go make my rounds with the others now!” Coran was delighted to hear this little shred of info yet was still not satisfied about his gut suspicions. He needed to continue and watch carefully.

He promptly marched out of the library, leaving the two Altean youths to blink in confusion. Once his footsteps were barely heard, they resumed leaning against each other.

 

\---

 

A few days passed with Coran keeping himself vigilant. 

Nothing out of the ordinary happened though. 

The Paladins trained with Lotor joining them here and there. If not training, he was retreating to the library or helping a Paladin with something. He did not show an inclination to spending extra time around the other Altean in the group to his relief.

Allura was not showing any signs of something being different either. She was training, planning, and conducting meetings just like before. In fact, if anything, the princess seemed to be more energetic about her duties.

Coran worked himself to admit that it all may have just been a wave of overprotectiveness. He trusted Allura’s judgement to be sound as it had always been. Besides, she also had the Paladins if something came up.


	2. Carrying On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello there!! i hope you like this chapter update, it's not quite as bubbly as the first one but i think some variety won't hurt. 
> 
> leave a comment if you've got something to say and/or stop by my tumblr (beansquat) if you'd like to chat or ask some things, i'd love to interact with you guys! thank you so much for reading this

Coran was a man of understanding.

Admittedly, much of the ability came from his time working with King Alfor and interacting with characters from around the universe but he did try beyond just tolerating people. He made sure of that especially for all who inhabited the Castle of Lions.

 

Lance was always particular of things when given a choice. He liked cleanliness, both of himself and an environment.

He was noticeably meticulous of maintaining his grooming habits, which sometimes lead to interesting situations with the others. Sometimes he would scuffle lightly with Keith or maybe Pidge about when to wash up---it was all done in good spirit and the other Paladins knew, despite their front of annoyance or indifference.

Coran was now accustomed to Lance’s little rituals and their preparation: the sight of the Paladin mixing up odd things together then wiping it onto his face; coming up with a seemingly random but actually well-planned request to go to the nearest markets for produce often connected to the previous detail; his need to sleep a specific amount as much as possible on the lighter days the Castleship’s crew happened upon; the list had a few more things of similar plot.

He was accustomed to these things because these were the habits Lance had been able to display repeatedly for him to observe then learn and adapt from. So when he requested something out of his ordinary, the Altean man was keenly tuned in.

“The temperature?”

“Yes,” Lance nodded, mouth set in a determined line. “I need to lower the temperature in my room by a lot.”

Pursing his lips slightly, Coran nodded back and then set off to show him where the controls were for the thermostat. Along the way, Lance gushed about his dealings with the other inhabitants of the ship.

“So earlier today, I saw Pidge moving a lot of her tech stuff to the Green Lion’s bay. She told me her room was getting a little stuffy…”

Coran drifted in and out of focus on his words, nodding along at the right time. Earlier, however, they did get into an animated discussion of weather on their respective planets. Somewhere in between there and here, Coran found himself thinking about random tasks around the Castle because Lance had begun to chatter about the others on the ship. It was only when the topic of Allura came up that he sharply tuned in again. 

“Earlier, she got upset when I asked why she looked so frustrated or whatever but I asked nicely! She went on about everyone in the Castle not giving her enough space to do things, whatever that meant. I’m not trying to be a problem, I swear--”

“If you think you can help her, ask. But don’t expect her to assign you something right away, the princess is very attached to the concept of independence with her projects.”

Lance’s eyes looked into the distance as if to ponder this and eventually nodded. Coran felt a little buzz of satisfaction with the reaction.

 

After he managed the room temperature with Lance, Coran decided to seek out Allura. 

Sometimes she exhibited a tendency to ignore her basic needs, like sleep, over work---recently it was more frequent so Shiro must have rubbed off some bad habits. It was usually less extreme but still concerning enough to give Coran a need to keep tabs on the princess.

 

Pidge was in her Lion’s bay just as described. Her project(s) were clustered around the feet of the robot at rest, hard to make out.

These are definitely worth observing come together, he noted to himself to check in regularly the next coming days. 

For now, however, Coran needed to learn the whereabouts of Allura.

“Nope, haven’t seen her just recently. Last time I checked, she was in the control room with Lotor. Something about updating records for planets and stuff.”

Pidge barely looked up from her hunched position over a tablet, engrossed with some diagrams. 

Coran made sure to point it out as a reminder, having learned from Shiro that she had recently started experiencing neck pains.

She quickly sat up straighter, a knowing grin on her face. It made her glasses slide off point and her immediate reaction was how to wipe off the alien grease and other things staining her hands before touching them. Pidge ended up gingerly using her forearms.

Looking up at last, the two shared a little smile.

Once the silence returned, Coran thanked her then went on his way to keep searching for Allura.

 

It was awful quiet as he walked. Lance’s chatter was missed, his own thoughts a bit drab at the moment unfortunately.

Pausing around the last corner, Coran reviewed his approach last time when Allura had been in Lotor’s company, or should he say the other way around. They were having some kind of moment obviously so maybe this time he would just stick to peering in.

Straightening his shoulders and pulling down his shirt tautly, he rounded the edge of the wall and stood off to the side of the doorway just close enough to listen in. 

There was minimal noise here too. He may have heard papers rustling and hushed voices though. 

Nothing to clue him in.

Making up his mind, Coran hurried to the training room, passing by Keith on the way. He came to a graceful stop, a few words on his lips to greet the stoic Paladin.

“Hey, Coran.” Keith’s lips twitched with the phantom of a pleasant expression.

“Be sure to grab a drink pouch in the kitchen if you’re done training, I pulled some out of the freezer earlier so they should be at just the right temperature now.”

“Thanks,” was the parting word from him. Coran smiled widely despite the less expressive exchange---he knew it had been pleasantly received. Keith had his own quirks after all and he was becoming more familiar with them as time passed.

 

Jogging up to the deck of the training room, the first thing he did was access the camera system of the castleship as a chair got pulled over with a foot. Coran plopped down a little unceremoniously as he searched for the one in the control room.

_“Whatever happened to the Qrikue’t people?”_

The audio feed was clear but even then, it did not enhance the hushed voice Allura spoke with. Coran leaned into the desk and quieted his breathing. The rush of energy from running up to the deck that made his heart beat a little loud in his ears was not helpful.

_“They were quickly- It only took the Galra a couple of days to destroy their planetary cluster, similar to…”_

_“I see.”_

The two younger Alteans’ shoulders were slouched ever so slightly as they stood over the numerous books opened in front of them and the massive chart Allura had put up on display of the galaxy. It was hard to make out their expressions but Coran was absolutely certain neither of them were in a playful mood.

_“I’m sorry, I might need a break from all of this.”_

Allura vaguely motioned to a book and turned herself slightly away. Lotor immediately straightened up and took a hesitant step towards her.

Wise choice, Coran noted in amusement before taking in what they were discussing. His mouth flattened into a line as a rush of despondency came in.

_“We can always return to these another time, you have much to take in.”_

There was a moment of silence between them before Allura turned more towards him and closed the gap, almost leaning into his chest plate.

_“Is this not difficult for you too?”_

Her voice wavered and Lotor brought up a hand to hers, grasping it in an unexpectedly gentle manner. Coran unconsciously leaned closer to the monitor lest he miss a single detail of what was happening live.

_“It is.”_

They turned to face each other completely and grasp each other’s hands. What went unseen were the little hand squeezes given to try and provide comfort silently.

_“Do you think there may be survivors?”_

Lotor’s face was hard to make out but his voice was subdued.

_“I want to say yes but this is war, Princess.”_

_“I know… Quiznak, I know that.”_

Allura closed the gap between them by leaning her forehead against his chest, immediately receiving an embrace from the Prince. He leaned his head down against the top of hers. 

Coran felt he saw enough and minimized the camera feed from the screen.  
He quickly ran through the other cameras around the Castleship before reaching to switch off the monitor.

Getting up with a little “oof” and dusting off his pants, the Altean man looked around himself in deep thought. The magnitude of the war was once again heavy on his mind.

Stepping out into the training room from the observation deck, he noticed Shiro enter.

“Greetings,” he automatically spoke. His tone was not quite as chipper as he would have wanted it to be, but with the Black Paladin, he felt less of a need to try and soften the reality of the situation they were all in. 

Shiro seemed to pick up on his mood and nodded in response.

Neither of them moved. Hesitance made the air thick as time dragged on, tick by tick. Until the younger man spoke up,

“Do you think you could show me some Altean combat drills?”

Smiling despite the despondent air in the room, Coran agreed.

“It wouldn’t hurt too much, I suppose!”


End file.
